1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a water pipe, and more particularly to a water pipe joint.
2. Description of Related Art
As shown in FIG. 1, a water pipe joint of the prior art comprises a hollow main body 10 which is provided at one end with a hose connector 101 and a locking nut 2. The main body 10 is provided at other end with a spring 17 fitted thereover, walls 11, and an expansion hole 12. Located between two walls 11 is a guide slot 110 for receiving a driven piece 13 which is provided with a retaining block 130. The retaining block 130 is extracted and retracted via the expansion hole 12. The driven piece 13 is pushed by a driving piece 15. The main body 10 is provided with a protruded edge 103 for stopping a stop piece 16 of a control sleeve 14. The spring 17 is forced backward by the control sleeve 14, so as to enable the retaining block 130 to retract into the expansion hole 12. As a result, the water discharging connector 1 can be inserted into a through hole 102 of the main body 10. As the control sleeve 14 is let go, the driven piece 13 is forced by the driving piece 15, thereby causing the retaining block 130 to jut out of the expansion hole 12. The main body 10 is thus joined with the water discharging connection 1 which can be connected with a hose or sprinkler.
Such a prior art water pipe joint as described above has several drawbacks. In the first place, it is rather complicated in construction and is therefore not cost-effective. In addition, the prior art water pipe joint is vulnerable to failure or clogging. In view of the fact that the control sleeve 14 and the main body 10 cannot be separated easily once they are joined together, the prior art water pipe-joint cannot be repaired or maintained with ease. Moreover, the control sleeve 14 and the retaining block 130 are made separately by injection molding, thereby resulting in a substantial increase in production cost.
The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a water pipe joint which is free of the drawbacks of the prior art water pipe described above.
The features, functions, and advantages of the present invention will be more readily understood upon a thoughtful deliberation of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.